Once upon a broken memory
by inufluffy18
Summary: A battle that can contol the outcome of her future has been lost... so why is it Usagi can remember nothing about this? And why does it feel like she's forgotten someone important?
1. Chapter 1

_Pain..._

That was the only sensation the young woman could feel throughout her entire body. That, and the small hint of despair that caused a single tear to escape her half-lidded eyes. It was not despair for herself though, no. She did not care that her entire body was bruised and broken, physical wounds would heal over time.

Her suffering was for the young woman who lay beside her, her body limp. She was not dead, that much was known to her. Her companion was simply asleep, the day's events having drained all the energy from her body. When she awoke she might feel the slightest pain and exhaustion, but it was nothing that should bring worry.

Fighter cried because it had been her fault the young woman was unconscious. Her long, beautiful blonde hair was messed, dirt covered, her soft lips pulled down into a frown. Even in sleep she was worried.

"Odango..." the nickname came out as a chocked sound from Fighter's cracked, dry lips. Her eyes once again began to water as she saw the wounds that had been inflicted on the other, her dress ripped and her body curled into a protective ball.

Even though the slightest movement sent a searing pain throughout her entire body, the dark haired female slowly and painfully reached out toward the blonde. She nearly pulled away in horror at the coldness of the girl's skin as her fingers came in contact with her cheek. She didn't move though, knowing that the other was simply drained of energy. It was nothing to worry about... At least, that was what she kept repeating to herself.

What would she do, if it turned out things were not as ok as they seemed? A lot could happen in a few hours and Fighter was sure she would shatter if something ever happened to her Odango... her Usagi...

Where were the others? Why had there been no one to help them? Everything was foggy, she couldn't think straight, like there was something she was forgetting. What it was though, completely eluded her.

She shook her head. Whatever it was she had forgotten, it couldn't be any more important than helping the blonde beside her.

Slowly sitting up, she gritted her teeth as a shooting, continuous pain shook her entire being. She would endure this though, she had to. "I'm sorry Odango," her voice was barely over a whisper, that being all she could manage at that time.

Usagi's eyes flittered open softly just as Fighter was wrapping her arms around her. She tried to speak, but she couldn't find any energy. It was a wonder she was able to keep her eyes open at all.

"I hope... If ever we meet again..." Fighter spoke into her ear, confusing the blonde. What did she mean by that?

With every last fibre of strength she had, Usagi lifted her arm to try and show the other female that she was awake, but just before she could make contact with the other, her next words stopped her.

"...That you'll be able to forgive me," the words were softly spoken, and Usagi could feel the regret that seeped into them. That was not all though, she could feel something ominous in Fighter's words, though she couldn't figure out why.

She opened her mouth to once again try and speak. "Wha-" She wasn't able to finish her question as her eyelids suddenly became heavy once again, her body no longer under her control. She could feel the blackness trying to drag her back into a slumber, but no matter how hard she tried to fight against it, it had begun to swallow her whole.

"_SEIYA!_" the heartbroken scream rang through nowhere but her own mind. Even if she had no idea why her heart felt so betrayed as she once again slipped into an unconscious state...

00000

"Urgh, five more minutes..." Usagi mumbled as she pulled her bunny patterned covers over her head as she tried to block out the sun's rays that seeped through her bedroom window.

She stayed like that for a few seconds before shooting straight up, glancing at her alarm clock and letting out a shriek when she got sight of the time. "I'm late!" she cried as she jumped from the bed, quickly slipping out of her nightgown and into her high school uniform. "Why did no one wake me?"

The cat lying at the foot of her bed yawned, opening one eye to watch the frantic blonde. "Usagi, you do realise..."

"Sorry Luna, we'll talk later!" she cut off her feline companion before she could give her the warning she had wanted.

Luna quickly jumped down from the bed, following Usagi as she ran from the room. "But Usagi!" her call rang out on deaf ears though as the blonde had already run down the stairs and into the kitchen.

She frantically looked around for her lunch, but was horrified to find nothing. "How am I supposed to survive without food?" she sulked, still panicked. Glancing at the clock above the kitchen table though, she forgot about food momentarily and just ran toward the door. "I can always steal something off Mako-chan!" she nodded triumphantly.

"Quiet down Baka," a male voice stopped her in her tracks as she turned to see her younger brother Shingo begin laughing.

Usagi just glared at him, at first wondering what the heck was so funny, then wondering why he wasn't at school yet. "What're you laughing at?" she huffed, getting impatient. She really had to get going...

"Oh nothing, you just must really love school," he chuckled, only to get a blank, confused stare from his older sister. "Seeing as how it's Saturday and all."

Usagi felt something drop then, and she mentally slapped herself. Of course it was Saturday... "I knew that!" she stuck her tongue out at him, pushing past him back to the stairs. "I was just practicing," she blew a raspberry at him before running back up to her room.

"I tried to warn you," Luna told her, stretching out her body.

The blonde just rolled her eyes. "Yeah well, at least now I can go back to sleep," she flopped back on to her bed, hugging her pillow as she closed her eyes.

"But I thought you were going to meet the others today?" Luna told her, pawing at one of the blonde's Odango shaped buns.

She shot up once again, startling the cat. "I'm late!" she cried out for a second time that morning.

00000

"Where is she?" a raven haired young woman tapped her foot impatiently as her eyes scanned the crowds, looking for a familiar blonde.

A blunette looked up from the book she had been reading, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm sure she isn't far," she tried, knowing that the usual amount of time had passed that they would spend waiting for their friend.

"Ami's right," a taller girl shrugged, leaning against one of the poles on the street, her brown hair tied back in a ponytail. "She's always late, you should be used to waiting for her by now."

Rei just groaned. "It doesn't matter if she's always late, I'm still going to be mad when she doesn't show up on time!"

The other blonde of the group just laughed at this. "You need to learn to relax a little," Minako just grinned.

"I'm plenty relaxed!" Rei argued, ready to start an argument.

Makoto cut her off though, spotting the person who had almost started the argument without even being there. "Found her!" the brunette told the others and they all stopped to watch Usagi come running towards them, obviously out of breath.

"Gomen!" she called out as she drew closer, taking a deep breath when she finally stopped in front of the other girls. "I thought it was Friday and ended up getting dressed in my school uniform," she scratched her head nervously, giving them an apologetic smile.

Minako just hugged their already forgiven friend as Rei just sighed. She was never able to stay mad at Usagi for too long. "It's fine! You still made it and- Yaten! Taiki!" the other blonde had begun, only to spot two familiar figures.

"Did you come to join us today?" Ami blinked, mostly speaking to Taiki. She hoped they would be, as did the other girls by their obvious interest at the new arrival's answer to the question.

Taiki shook her head. "Unfortunately not. We only came to ask a question," she answered, getting disappointed looks from all five girls.

"Have you seen Seiya?" Yaten spoke up, getting straight to what she wanted to know.

Before any of the others could speak, Usagi answered, a confused look on her face.

"Who?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Who?"

The word that left Usagi's lips was simple, but it held a greater meaning than just a simple question.

Minako let out a laugh, patting the other blonde's back. "Aww, c'mon Usagi. Did you guys have a fight or something?" she laughed, thinking that her friend was simply angry at the missing starlight. Maybe she had finally gotten sick of her adopted nickname.

The other girls didn't pay attention to Usagi, thinking more about the fact that Yaten and Taiki were desperate enough that they had come to ask them for help. "Is something wrong?" Makoto questioned as studied the face of the two girls that stood before their group. They seemed to be generally worried, and that was never a good sign, especially from Yaten, who usually never truly showed what she was feeling.

Rei was doing the same, and for the first time she noticed that neither of them were in their male disguises, actually wearing clothes made for women for once. Usually that would make her curious, but now all she thought was that they needed to get out without being recognised. She stayed quiet though, wanting to hear their explanation.

What were they doing looking for Seiya? The last time any of them, excluding Usagi, had seen the dark haired starlight, was when all three of the idols had been together.

Yaten and Taiki looked between themselves, obviously more distressed by the blonde's question then any of the scouts. "Her too?" Taiki mumbled to the silver haired female beside her, only earning a frown in response.

"Too?" Usagi wondered, looking from the girls before her, too Minako. "And what are you talking about? Who's Seiya?"

This seemed to strike alarms in the scout's minds. She wasn't joking. Usagi really had no idea who they were speaking about. They had been so close though, something bad had to have happened.

"What's going on?" Rei demanded, staring straight at Yaten. Her expression demanded an answer, and she would get one.

Yaten just glared in response. She didn't like that look. It was like the raven haired young woman before her thought she was in control, that she was the boss of her. She was about to tell her that they'd explain when they wanted to, when Taiki put a hand before her to stop her.

"We have to talk," she nodded. She was glad to see that the others seemed to know exactly who they were searching for. What worried her was Usagi. How could the strongest of them have been effected? This was bad, especially since the blonde was their only link to Seiya at the moment. She had been the one she'd gone to see before she'd gone missing.

"Alright, but can we do it somewhere else?" Usagi butted in, everyone turning to look at her. A strange sound broke the silence and she just laughed. "I'm starving."

00000

The seven girls all sat down at one of the tables in the restaurant section of CROWN, silently looking between themselves. The scouts were just staring at the starlights, waiting for an explanation while the two girls just tried to think of where to begin explaining.

Taiki sighed, and opened her mouth to begin explaining, but it was the silver haired girl who spoke first, sick of the silence. "Seiya," she started, looking between the others, specifically at Usagi who still had no idea who they were speaking about. "...Doesn't exist."

"Excuse me?" Minako just blinked at the silence that followed that sudden confession. So what was she? Some kind of illusion? Or even the transformation of something else? She felt dizzy as a number of explanations spun through her mind.

"What she means is," Taiki continued, also having an eye on Usagi as she ordered something to eat. Everyone else was too wrapped up in trying to hear what the hell they were talking about when their friend asked if they wanted anything to eat. "To everyone but us, and you, Seiya never existed. She was never a member of the Three Lights, and no one has ever even heard of her," her voice became softer with each word, but the girls heard everything she was saying.

Four heads snapped around to look at the blonde who sat at the edge of teh table, mumbling something about her food taking too long. "You mean Usagi..." The blunette who had been quiet up until then tried, attempting to understand all of this. It made no sense, but really, what had made any sense in their lives since they had discovered their destinies?

"Seems to be affected as well," Taiki nodded slowly.

"But what does this all mean?"

Yaten glared at nothing in particular, crossing her arms over her chest. "It means that something's gone wrong. We've never seen anything like someone's entire existence being erased. Whoever caused this has to be powerful with either a grudge against Seiya, or is trying to pick us off one by one," she spoke, her hands balling into fists.

Something was definitely wrong. None of them had ever seen Yaten this distressed. "What are we going to do?" Usagi spoke up.

Yaten blinked. "You were actually listening?" she raised an eyebrow.

The blonde nodded, her expression was serious. "I still have no idea who you're talking about, but from what you've said it sounds like this Seiya is a friend, and it makes me sad to think I've forgotten a friend," she explained. Her speech would have seemed so much more inspiring if she hadn't been shoving French fries into her mouth every two words.

Rei stood up slowly, everyone looking toward her as she did. "Meet me at the shrine in an hour," she told the group, walking off as if she were in a hurry before any of them could answer.

00000

"Is there anything I can get you?" Rei's grandfather popped his head into the room, looking from his granddaughter to the giant fire that burned before her as she sat on the wooden floor, her eyes closed, chanting to herself.

Rei didn't open her eyes, but stopped her chanting for a few seconds. "Not now grandpa," she told the old man quickly, resuming her previous motions.

"Ok then," he nodded, popping his head back out the door and leaving her to do whatever she was doing.

Rei opened one eye softly to glance into the fire, nothing popping out at her. She could feel sweat beading on her forehead, not from the heat of the fire, but from how hard she had been working to get some kind of sign.

She blew a stray strand of hair from her face, before just pulling a string from the fold of her miko outfit that she would use as a pocket, pulling her hair together and trying it up, making sure to sure not to leave any hair hanging in her face.

"I must be doing something wrong..." she muttered to herself, trying to figure out a different approach. She had been thinking of Seiya when chanting, but if teh starlight no longer 'existed' then maybe she had to think outside of the box.

She still didn't get it. How could Seiya have completely been erased? It didn't make any sense. Neither did the fact that they were still able to remember the dark haired female, yet Usagi, the one who had the strongest bond with her, couldn't.

She closed her eyes, placing her hand over them as she let out a soft sigh. She couldn't give up yet though, they had to know what kind of enemy they were going to have to face, they had to know something. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes again, but what she saw wasn't the burning flames she was so used to.

The room was dark, but Rei could hear a wicked laughter in the background. It was a male voice, but that was all she could make out. A light flashed for a second, before the entire room once again faded to black. She had only needed that split second to see what the light had revealed though.

"_Serenity..._" The word hadn't been spoken by herself, by Rei could hear it ring throughout the darkness."

Her hands shook as she once again was simply staring into the fire that had begun to die out as it burned the last of the wood it was feeding on. It didn't occur to her at that moment that her flames never usually died out by themselves, they would keep burning until she would put them out herself.

She had to speak to the others. She needed to tell them what she had seen. "This isn't good," she whispered, the fire giving one last struggle to stay lit before blowing itself out.


	3. Chapter 3

"What happened?" Ami asked, studying Rei's features. The miko looked distressed, and none of them really knew what had happened.

They had all shown up at the shrine an hour later like Rei had told them. Even Usagi had shown up on time, and the outer senshi had joined them after a call from Minako. Yet since they'd arrived, no one had really spoken other than in greeting, and Rei telling them to come inside. Her grandpa had come in earlier to leave them a plate of cookies, but from then they'd all just sat in silence, looking between each other trying to guess what had happened and nibbling on the cookies.

Rei sat at the end of the table, silent as she seemed to stare at nothing in particular. Ami sat to her left, Makoto beside her. On her right Minako and Usagi sat, scarfing down the cookies. The outer senshi stood just outside the room, listening in. Michiru and Haruka were standing beside each other, Hotaru standing in front of them with Michiru's hand on her shoulder. Setsuna was questioning the remaining Starlights as they waited.

They all waited in silence for an answer, but the raven haired young woman wasn't sure where to begin. She had had visions which worried her before, but something felt different about this one. And then there was that voice. Who had it belonged to, and what did they want with Serenity?

She glanced toward Usagi. If it wasn't enough they had to worry about what happened to Seiya, but now they would have to keep a closer watch over their princess too.

"Rei?" Usagi blinked, wondering why she was being stared at.

The miko shook her head, taking a deep breath before finally opening her mouth to speak. "We're in trouble," she told them, her expression dark.

"Like we didn't know that already?" Yaten scoffed, rolling her eyes. This earned a glare from Rei, and for once the silver haired starlight shut up, actually in fear for her life at that moment.

"As I was saying..." she continued, moving her gaze from Yaten back to the rest of the girls. "There's... something out there. And it's after Serenity," she paused for a moment as a couple of the girl's gasped, but all eyes turned towards Usagi who just looked shocked. "I still don't know how this involves Seiya," this earned a groan from Yaten, while Taiki sighed. "But I saw something..."

"Could it be chaos?" Makoto interrupted. "We've already seen that it takes a lot to get rid of it. Maybe it wasn't really destroyed..."

Minako shushed her, wanting to hear what Rei had seen, but now the thought of Chaos re-emerging had nestled its way into all of the senshi's minds. "What _did_ you see?"

"Ruins..." Rei's spoke in an ominous tone. Ruins? No one could understand why that was so bad. She had seen ruins before hadn't she? "At first, I thought it was the moon kingdom. It didn't look like Earth," she explained.

"What was it then?" Michiru asked softly. She probably one of the most concerned. How was it that she hadn't gotten a single sign? The first she had known of anything being wrong was when Minako had called for them.

Hotaru sighed, she had thought it would be something like this, but she had hoped it had only been a horrible premonition and nothing more. But then again, she was the senshi of ruin... "It was the Earth, wasn't it? Or, what was to be Crystal Tokyo," she spoke up, projecting an image that came into her mind, Haruka placing a hand on her free shoulder as she did so. They still couldn't take the chance that her powers could go out of control.

It was the exact Ruins the Rei had seen in her vision, but now that she had been able to get a longer look at it, she could tell it really was the earth. It was different though. They could see signs of the city they knew now, but at the same time there were small sections of what they now knew to be the beginnings of Crystal Tokyo, or rather, the Crystal Palace.

The youngest senshi wasn't able to keep that projection up for long though, and it soon dimmed, before fading away. "How could this have happened...?" Ami wondered, glancing toward Setsuna. She was the guardian of time, she had to have some idea.

She shook her head. "Nothing is ever set in stone, the future changes with every thought a person has," she explained.

"Where's Luna and Artemis?" Ami spoke up, looking for the two felines.

"Researching," Minako answered, getting a few looks. "You know, trying to find out about Seiya. If we can remember him, surely there are other people?" she finished in more of a question than an explanation.

"That would make sense," Haruka nodding, speaking up for the first time. Really, she didn't care if they never found the missing starlight, but she had agreed to go along with this anyway, but only because the missing girl could be connected to this new enemy, and that was the only reason.

A cough interrupted them, and everyone turned to see Luna and Artemis standing at the doorway. "How'd it go?" Yaten asked, actually speaking in a softer tone when she addressed Luna.

The purple cat shook her head. "We weren't able to find anything on the internet, or any old newspapers," she told them, earning sighs throughout the group.

Artemis nodded. "Even in photos, it's like she's been erased from them," he explained. Producing photos he had been carrying. Everyone still had no idea where these cats hid those things, or how they carried them.

The girls around the table all picked up a couple of photos, Yaten and Taiki also leaned over to grab a couple. Some of them looked fine, like there was only ever supposed to be one person in the picture, or Yaten and Taiki by themselves. But others were strange. There was a picture they had taken sneakily of Haruka and Seiya arguing. Now it was only a picture of Haruka seeming to argue with herself. Another was supposed to be Minako with her arm wrapped around Seiya's neck, pulling her over for the photo, but again, there was no dark haired female. "She's just... gone," Makoto breathed, shaking her head.

"Actually," Luna spoke up, patting something on the floor with her paw. Usagi blinked, reaching over to pick it up. "Who's this?" she asked, looking over the photo.

Minako snatched it from her. "IT'S SEIYA!" she shouted and the others all practically ran to see the picture, excluding the outer senshi. Even Yaten was quick to get there.

"But... how?" Taiki wondered, her eyes wide.

"We don't know. But this is the only real proof we could find of Kou Seiya's existence," Luna told them.

Minako handed the picture back to Usagi. "So where do we go from here?" she wondered, and everyone began to think of a strategy. Everyone except for Usagi, who was staring at the picture of the male disguised Seiya with an arm wrapped around her shoulder, winking, while she smiled and flashed the peace sign.

00000

Darkness shrouded the entire... room? She couldn't tell it was that dark, and no matter how many times she blinked, or just tried to stare into the darkness her eyes didn't adjust. "Where am I?" even though her voice was soft it echoed through the entire place.

She didn't like this place. She didn't like that she was pretty much blind, that she couldn't see where she was, or what surrounded her. She hated that she couldn't tell if something was making her way toward her, getting ready to attack.

She couldn't even tell if her eyes were opened or closed, but then, she saw something... gold? She strained her eyes, trying to see what it was. Whatever it was, it was coming closer.

Now she could see. It wasn't gold, but blonde... blonde hair. It couldn't be? Could it? She had no idea where she was, how would the other be able to find her?

The figure drew closer and she could tell it wasn't who she had first thought, but rather a man. He was tall, taller than her, with short blonde hair and gentle blue eyes. Eyes that seemed so familiar to her. His expression was far from gentle though, his lips pulled into a smirk, and though his eyes seemed kind, they also had a flickering darkness in them.

He laughed suddenly, making her jump. She hadn't expected that. "What's so funny?" she looked the male over, taking a defensive stance.

He cocked his head, staring straight into her eyes and sending a shiver down his spine. "You sure do cause a lot of trouble for such a small thing," he looked her over.

"I'm not small. Who the hell are you?" she frowned, averting her eyes. For some reason she couldn't look straight at him.

"All will be revealed in due time," he chuckled. Damn she hated all that mysterious crap.

She glared at him. "What do you want with me?"

"You'll see, dear Seiya. You'll see..."


	4. Chapter 4

Seiya frowned as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.

After learning little more than nothing about the man that had revealed himself to her, she had been blindfolded, much to her protest and struggling, and was taken from the darkness into a well lit room. At first she had no idea where she was, but after actually assessing her surroundings she had realised it was a bedroom. The large bed on the opposite side of the room was a dead giveaway.

"You will be eating with me tonight. I'll leave you to get changed," he'd said, before leaving the room and locking the doors behind him. She had spent a good amount of time pulling at the handles of the large wooden door, and just plain trying to knock it down before she had given up.

What had he meant, get changed? She looked around her prison. It was pretty bare, the whole room consisting of the large bed, a full-length mirror in the corner and a closet that sat against the opposite wall.

Taking a bet on the closet, she had opened it to reveal a plain, dark satin gown that had matched the color of her eyes. She had stared at it for what felt like minutes, trying to decide what the heck to do with it, before she had finally removed it from its resting place so she could get a better look at it. "Oh hell no," she'd shaken her head, holding up the offensive garment. He wanted her to wear that? She couldn't even remember the last time she'd worn women's clothing.

That was when the woman had walked in. The one with dark, charcoal hair and eyes to match. Eyes that scared the hell out of Seiya. Whatever this woman was, she wasn't human. "You're not dressed," she'd spoken in a soulless, almost robot sounding voice. "That won't do. My lord will be displeased," she shook her head. "I will help you."

Deciding that whatever she was, the starlight didn't want to mess with her then and there, she had just stood there as the woman had undressed her and helped into her new dress, her cheeks blazing red. Any other time she would have tried to punch out anyone who wanted to get her naked, but she had no idea what she was up against, and that just annoyed her.

And that was why she was frowning as she stared at her reflection. The woman, who had introduced herself as Nerida after Seiya's constant attempts at getting her to reveal some kind of information, had fetched her a matching pair of gloves earlier and was now brushing her hair which she had let loose from its usual ponytail.

She fidgeted as she waited for her to finish, uncomfortable with the sudden pampering while in enemy territory. She was so confused that she couldn't even begin to guess what was going on, or what that man had planned for her. One thing really did bother her though, and that was the fact that her abductor looked so familiar. Yet the reason why was dancing before her, just out of her reach.

"You're finished," Nerida told her in the same emotionless voice. She once again focused her attention on her reflection, seeing her hair had just been left down, with two simple, silver star clips holding it out of her face. "You may now go and see my lord," she told her, stepping aside so that Seiya had a clear view of the open door.

That was when she ran. Her heeled shoes clicking as she ran out into a long hallway. She had to get out of here quick. She had no idea what this guy was planning, but she didn't want to find out.

"Where do you think you're going? The dining all is in the opposite direction," the calm voice behind her made her freeze, and she swiftly turned around to see _him_ standing there, watching her with interest. She didn't know why she had stopped, maybe it was fear. All she knew was that she should have kept running.

She glared at his amused expression, far from amused herself. "I'm not hungry," she answered, her voice flat.

He chuckled. "That's too bad then. I was quite looking forward to-" he cut off mid-sentence, reaching out and gripping her wrist before she even had a chance to react. "Your company," he finished, flashing her a charming smile.

She struggled, trying to fight against his grip, but found it was no use when he didn't even budge. "I'm sure you could find some way to entertain yourself," she growled, attempting to attack him with her free hand.

His eyes seemed to blaze as he reached out to grab her free wrist, pulling her closer to him and stopping any chance of escape. "Now where's the fun in that?" he breathed, their faces inches apart as he stared in her eyes that were filled with absolute hate for this man.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" she spoke softly, but with an angry force to her words.

He smiled, opened his mouth slowly and mouthed three words...

'_Dinner's getting cold.'_

That's it. She was going to kill him.

00000

Elsewhere, the senshi were completely stumped for ideas. They had no idea what to do about Seiya, no idea what to do about Rei's vision, and no idea what to do about the owner of the voice she'd heard.

"I'm still lost as to how this photo still exists," Michiru spoke thoughtfully, glancing over Usagi's shoulder at the photo she had refused to let go of after she'd seen it.

Even though she couldn't remember the dark haired female, some part of her obviously did. That was proven when she had seen the photo. It had made her happy, the memory she couldn't piece together, but at the same time she was sad she couldn't remember such a happy time.

Taiki nodded. "It doesn't make sense that this is the only visible proof of her. You would think everything would have been erased," she commented, trying to figure out how this was possible.

Ami, who had taken a seat beside her, nodded. "There must be a reason for this."

"Maybe whoever did this didn't have enough power to get rid of her completely," Minako tried. As confused as everyone else. Well, almost everyone.

Rei on the other hand, had come up with a different assumption. "Maybe it was Seiya," she told the others. "It would make sense that she would choose a picture of herself with Usagi to keep herself 'real'" she finished her theory. She could have been way off, but it was better now that they had something to go on, rather than grasping at straws.

Yaten let out and exasperated sigh. "Even if that was the case, it doesn't bring us any closer to anything!" she rubbed her temples in annoyance.

Rei stood up then quickly, angrily walking the few steps to the silver haired starlight, and pointed a finger in her face. "I haven't seen you come up with anything yet. So I suggest you start help thinking of a plan, or shut up and don't say another thing."

Yaten looked ready to kill the fiery priestess, but instead just huffed and crossed her arms, glaring at something on the other side of the room. One of these days...

"She's got a point though," Haruka spoke up, agreeing with the starlight even if she didn't really like it. "Even with that information we can't find out where Seiya is, or anything about this enemy," her expression was pulled into a frown as she said this, annoyed that nothing was ever easy.

Rei glanced at the other, letting out a light sigh. "I know. I guess I'm just annoyed that I wasn't able to find anything else," she lightly rubbed her eyes, the weariness that sometimes came after he predictions finally beginning to hit her.

"You should rest," Yaten told her not changing her expression, earning a surprised stare from Rei. Did Yaten... care? No, there was no way. She was probably just meaning it so that they could get another prediction out of her or something.

"I agree," Minako spoke up. "You look tired."

Rei shook her head. "I'll rest when we've figured this entire thing out," she told them. "But thank you anyway."

"Don't do it!" the sudden outburst caused almost all of them to jump, before ten pairs of eyes turned to stare at Usagi to try and figure out what happened. They soon realised that the blonde hadn't been talking to any of them though.

Her eyes were clear, staring straight ahead at nothing. Or rather, nothing anyone else could see. "Usagi? Are you ok?" Setsuna questioned, moving to Usagi's side try and get a response from the young woman.

She wouldn't get one though, as barely a second later with tears brimming in her eyes, Usagi collapsed, asleep.

"What happened?" Makoto jumped from her seat and practically ran to the blonde's side. They knew she could sleep through anything, but this was different. "Usagi? Usagi?" she called as she shook the smaller female's shoulders, trying to get her to open her eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

The male's eyes sparkled with amusement as he watched how angry the dark haired female had gotten with his reply to his question. He could understand her frustration though, he would be mad too if he'd been taken from everything he'd known. Especially after something like that...

He shook his head. At least the situation hadn't been any graver when he'd arrived. Otherwise he would have lost not only one of his best lackeys, but also a great ally if the opportunity would ever arise.

And he hoped it would.

"You haven't touched your food," he gave Seiya a disapproving look from across the large, wooden banquet table that sat in the centre of a small hall. He had been keeping an eye on her the whole time, to make sure she didn't attempt another escape, and so far he hadn't even seen her glance towards her knife and fork.

She just glared in response, following by pushing her plate further away from herself.

He raised his eyebrow in an amused expression. "What do you believe you have to gain by refusing to eat?" he questioned her. "Or, is it you believe I would try to poison you?" a small smirk appeared on his face as Seiya averted her gaze.

God this guy was annoying. If she didn't want to eat, then she wasn't going to eat. Simple as that. It wasn't for any special reason that she had pushed her plate away. Though the theory of poisoning had crossed her mind when she had first entered the hall and spotted the feast.

It had almost been like he was welcoming a guest, and not just feeding a prisoner he had acquired. She had felt uncomfortable the moment he had opened the large double doors leading to the hall. Never mind the fact that she had felt his eyes on her the whole time, or that her wrists actually stung from where he had gripped them earlier. It wasn't even that she had been forced into wearing a dress, something she hadn't even gone near her entire time on Earth. No, what had made her uncomfortable was the way he had treated her when leading her here.

The guy had kept a firm grip on one of her wrists, which she had been very annoyed about, but his grip had been gentle. He smiled at her and at one point even attempted to make small talk, asking what she thought of the castle, if she were cold and even how she was. She had flat out ignored him, both mad that he'd even look at her, and confused as hell that he was treating her like someone he had invited over for dinner, rather than someone he had forced there.

Her stomach growled as she glanced towards her plate and she glared at nothing in particular as she cursed in her mind. She didn't know how long it had been since she had eaten, having no idea what day it even was, but she did know that she was starving. That still didn't mean she wanted to eat anything she was given by that man.

"Please," he spoke up, startling her. "Don't be afraid. I swear to you that your food will no harm you in any way," he chuckled lightly and Seiya wasn't surprised to find that that pissed her off.

Re-directing her glare to the man she still hadn't managed to find anything about, she stared at him for a few moments, before picking up her knife and fork and cutting a piece off of what she guessed to be chicken. She stabbed the piece roughly, hesitantly bringing the food to her mouth, sniffing it lightly, before finally letting herself taste it.

She waited for a few moments after she had chewed and swallowed it, and after finding that nothing had happened to her, she continued with her meal.

The sound of laugher stopped her as she went to take another bite, drawing her attention back to her captor. "I'm glad you approve," he was watching her with the same amused expression he had been earlier, but his features had softened.

That did nothing to soften Seiya's guard though. She knew the ruse. They would seem as though they weren't really that bad after all, that you shouldn't be afraid and that for some strange reason they cared about you, then when you finally trusted them they would stab you in the back and their true motives would come to light.

"Who are you?" she watched him carefully as her question was asked. "I believe I at least deserve to know the name of the man who's holding me against my will."

He chuckled, watching her carefully before whispering a name so lightly that she almost missed it.

00000

"I want pancakes," Usagi mumbled as her first sentence when she finally awoke, rubbing her eyes lightly as she let out a light yawn as if everything was perfectly fine, like she had only dozed off, rather than collapsing after yelling out something the other girl's still couldn't make sense of.

Rei just rolled her eyes, but still kept a close watch on her friend. None of them had any idea what had happened, and when she'd been questioned about it, Usagi had said she couldn't remember what she had seen. She didn't even remember calling out or fainting.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Ami looked the blonde over quickly, before deciding she seemed to be alright.

Usagi nodded. "Where'd everyone go though?" she glanced around the room, noticing that the outer senshi had disappeared during her nap.

"Setsuna said she wanted to check on the gates," Minako answered, referring to the gates of time that Pluto watched over and kept safe from intruders. "And Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru went home so they could try and figure out something to do," she nodded.

"Mirchiru's eyes were glued to her mirror, weren't they?" Makoto commented.

Ami nodded. "It's because she doesn't like that she hadn't been given a warning that something was wrong," she explained.

They all knew that Michiru had been frustrated that she hadn't had a single sign of trouble, that she had been completely in the dark. They were all frustrated with that though, and Minako had murmured something about the aqua haired senshi being lucky she even had something like the mirror, earning an elbow to the side from Rei.

"You're sure you can't remember anything?" Minako asked her fellow blonde for the fifth time, only causing Usagi to pout as she nodded her head in definite response.

"How many times do I have to say it?" Usagi frowned. "The last thing I remember is you guys telling Rei to rest and then... nothing!" she held her hands up in a 'poof' motion to show that the memory was gone. If she could remember she would have told them already. Asking her over and over again wasn't going to make her suddenly remember everything.

Rei sighed, rubbing her temples. "I don't know if we should be more worried about my vision or Seiya..." she commented, looking back to the group. They still had no idea whether the two events were even linked...

She had realised something though, in the time Usagi had been unconscious. She had actually thought about her vision, trying to remember every detail. The laughter had come from a male, of that she was sure of, as well as the mention of the name Serenity. But, now she felt like they had been two different voices... two completely different beings.

Like they didn't have enough to worry about.

Taiki sighed, her and Yaten not having moved from their spot against the wall, even when Usagi had collapsed. They had known the others would take care of her, they didn't need anyone else crowding around. "What are we supposed to do?" she asked Yaten.

Yaten shook her head. "What can we do?" They didn't have any leads, any plans... they didn't even have anyone to blame, and she was annoyed. "Hey," she spoke in a harsher tone then she had intended, but she didn't care, and the other girls all turned to look at her. "So do you have any idea what the hell is going on?"

Makoto glared at her, and was ready to say something when Ami lightly placed a hand on her arm to stop her. Now really wasn't the time for fighting.

They all looked between themselves, no one speaking up. None of them had a single idea of what their first step to be, and that wasn't a good position to be in. "If only we had some clue. A name, place, face, something," Minako commented.

"Maybe I can help with that," a voice that belonged to none of the senshi , yet was familiar, spoke and they all glanced toward the doorway to see who had spoken.

The owner of the voice was greeted with shock gasps and glares from all of the girls. "You..."

00000

"Apollo?" Seiya repeated the name in almost the same whispering tone. The name was familiar...

He shook his head. "Apollon dear. Apollon."


	6. Chapter 6

"Oh please, is that how you greet a guest?" the woman standing in the doorway sighed, shaking her head as she studied each of the girls sitting before her with their guarded expressions, some even getting ready to attack her.

It had been a while since she had seen teh group, and they had not been left on the right foot. Even if each girl before her looked different to when they'd faced each other last, it was easy for her to recognise them simply by the presence they emitted, and obviously it was the same in their situation.

When she did not receive a response, she sighed again, running a hand through her long hair that began as blonde, but ended in a warm red the further her hand ran down. It would not be easy to break away the girl's suspicions of her, and she wondered how she could prove she meant no harm.

Holding her hands up in a sign of submission the first thing each girl noticed was that her wrists were bare, no trinkets, bracelets or any other accessories decorating them. Studying the rest of her figure, they could see that she was wearing a plain yellow dress, and matching pumps, but she was not decorated by jewellery of any kind.

"Is that enough proof for you?" Galaxia lowered her arms, a small smile on her face.

Though they would admit that she wasn't hiding any weapons, and that she seemed to mean no harm, the group wasn't about to let their guards down around a woman who had attempted and almost succeeded in killing each of them.

Yaten was the least trusting of the woman before them, and even attempted to attack her. Taiki managed to grab her mid-lunge, and held her fellow starlight back. "Let me go!" Yaten struggled, fighting as best she could against her companion's strong grip. "How can you just stand there and do nothing?" she hissed, her eyes mirroring the fury she felt.

The second starlight simply tightened her grip. "Attacking her will do you no good," she told the silver haired starlight firmly.

Yaten struggled for a few more moments, before finally giving in and calming down. "If she so much as twitches she's going down," she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Noted," the older woman rolled her eyes. "I did not come here to cause trouble anyhow, I came to lend a hand," she told them, smiling lightly.

Usagi, who was now seated behind the inner senshi after they had put themselves between their princess and their enemy, blinked as her thoughts swirled through her mind. "But... Didn't you die?" she spoke the only words that came to her mind as she studied the obviously still alive woman.

Galaxia couldn't help the laugh that broke free from her lips and drifted through the silent room. "I believe I did, though I can't really remember much of what happened," she explained, her eyes seeming to look somewhere far off as she recounted the story. "The next time I opened my eyes I was here, on Earth. Alive and well, and not sure what to do with myself."

"Then why come here?" Ami questioned, not finding it strange that the older woman had been 'reborn' as such, each of the senshi had gone though the same thing. Though any normal person would not believe such a tale, it seemed normal to them.

The question seemed to have caught the woman off guard, and she stumbled in her thoughts for a moment. "At first I was just wandering aimlessly, not sure where to go, but then I found myself on a path that I just had to follow. And when I arrived here, well, I'm not sure how to explain it," she answered honestly. She had just felt like she needed to be there, that she was needed there.

Rei narrowed her eyes as she listened to her story. "Try to explain," she spoke blankly, no longer sure what she was supposed to think of the other's arrival.

"You needed answers, and I believe I can help you find them. Though I can't do much, I do have information," Galaxia told them calmly. Ever since she had awoken there was an ominous feeling surrounding her, and she had begun to feel the tug of a familiar presence that she would much rather forget.

Usagi was the only one who truly believed the older woman's words, the others all still studying her, watching for threats, and just plain not trusting her words. "What's wrong?" she asked, noticing the obvious worry on the woman's face.

Galaxia frowned, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. If what she was feeling was truly what she thought it to be, then there was more danger then she first realised. "It is chaos."

This earned a round of shock gasps, as well as one 'I told you so' from Minako, who received glares from everyone in the room. Now was not the time to gloat about being right that their worst enemy had come back to haunt them once again. "What do you mean?" Makoto questioned, being the first to find her voice.

"That's right," Minako chimed in. "Chaos was defeated, destroyed, gone for good. Bye bye."

"I mean," Galaxia continued. "That chaos has returned, and no matter what you think it will not change this fact. I can still feel it's presence after being so closely tied to its power," she shuddered at the memory of the dark tendrils wrapping around her mind and body.

"No," Usagi shook her head firmly. "No, not again. Not after all we've been though," she let out a soft sob as Rei placed an arm over her shoulder.

The miko then turned from her friend to the woman she still did not trust, but had decided they would have to cooperate with for the time being. "So what are we supposed to do about this?" she questioned.

00000

"I'm glad you have finally found your appetite," Apollon chuckled as he watched Seiya finally enjoying the meal she had been given. Though she was still not happy with her situation, she was a smallest bit glad she had managed to get some kind of information from her captor.

Rolling her eyes she swallowed the mouthful she had taken a moment earlier, before glaring at him. "Don't act like we're friends," she huffed, looking from him to the other side of the hall.

She still didn't like how pleasant he was trying to act and would rather he play the part of a normal villain. One who was completely in love with themself, and confident in their ability, who treated their captives like dirt beneath their feat. At least then she wouldn't be so confused about her situation.

The male made an expression that Seiya refused to believe was a pout, as she turned back to look at him. "Please, why must you act so defensive around me, I mean you no harm," he smiled charmingly. It was disgusting.

"You expect me to act like a guest when I've been kidnapped and held against my will? I don't know where you learnt about life, but let me set things straight. No way," she practically spat in his direction, stood up quickly, and walked from the room.

She knew that she would have no chance of escaping so soon, not after her first failed attempt, so reluctantly she made her way back to the room she had been first introduced to. "What have I gotten myself in to?" she spoke to no one as she flopped on to the large bed, using her arm to cover her eyes.

She hadn't meant for any of this to happen after _that_, she had only wanted to keep Usagi safe, and to do that she had had to leave, to find out what was after her. She could never have dreamt that the youma had been after herself, and not the lunar princess she had sworn to protect.

She was just beginning to doze off when a knock at the door jolted her from her rest. Without waiting for an answer, or conformation to enter, Nerida walled into the room holding a pile of clothes that she placed at the edge of the bed. "Come," she spoke in the same, robotic voice as she held her hand out to Seiya.

"What now?" the starlight groaned. Was she not able to even rest in peace.

Nerida's expression didn't change, but instead of waiting for Seiya to come to her, she instead grabbed the dark haired female's arm and pulled her along with her. "It is time for your bath," she answered.

Seiya sighed, not in the mood for taking orders at that moment, and instead attempted to escape from the woman's grip. She soon found it was as useless as trying to escape from Apollon's, the woman was much stronger than her, and it again helped her theory of her not being human. With a groan she finally gave up and let herself be dragged along.


End file.
